Bridgwater docks regeneration could start next April
Tendering documents have revealed a potential spring start for the £5.4m project at Northgate Docks
The £5.4m regeneration of Bridgwater’s historic docks could begin as early as April 2027, according to tendering documents.
The Northgate Docks connect the River Parrett to the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, and form the northern terminus of the Celebration Mile which runs through the town centre to the railway station.
Somerset Council’s planning committee north voted in mid-July to approve plans for a major regeneration of the docks, funded by the Bridgwater town deal, allowing residential moorings to return and improving walking and cycling connections in the local area.
The council has now officially published the tender notice for the project, indicating that work could begin in the spring and will take up to 12 months to complete.
Under the town deal scheme, the pontoons within the docks will be reinstated and refurbished, allowing for up to 23 residential and ten leisure moorings at any one time.
New security entrances will be put in place for boat users, with the income from moorings being reinvested directly into front-line services.
Repairs will be undertaken to the existing bascule bridge which runs across the eastern end of the docks, and new information boards will be installed to provide information on the history of the local area.
The existing swing bridge at Newton Lock will be replaced with a 3.5 metre-wide bridge, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to cross safely in both directions at once.
Of the funding allocated for the regeneration project, £1m is explicitly for walking and cycling improvements in line with the wider aims of the Bridgwater local cycling and walking infrastructure plan (LCWIP).
To this end, a shared use path will be constructed on the northern side of the docks, allowing connection with the Linham Road cycle link (which was completed in December 2024) and onward travel onto the A39 Western Way and along the River Parrett (via the tidal barrier site) to the Express Park and north towards the Dunball roundabout.
This path will proceed south over the new swing-bridge and across Anson Way, where cyclists and pedestrians can join the existing path past Brewery Field and Northgate Primary School, towards Northgate Yard.
A council spokesperson said: “This project will regenerate the heritage dock area by creating new residential, leisure and tourism destination quarter in the town.
“This will support clean and inclusive growth by stimulating commercial regeneration and creating a sustainable living environment.
“It will re-energise the town centre as it forms a new leisure destination with easy access to the town centre and the adjacent commercial leisure quarter of Northgate.
“Positioned alongside the Northgate complex, it will stimulate waterside business potential as well as maximising community benefit through the offer of residential moorings.”
The tender estimates the value of the contract at £5.4m including VAT – with £5.2m coming from the Bridgwater town deal grant and the remaining £200,000 from other council funding.
All remaining town deal funding must be committed or under contract by March 2027, with all outstanding projects being completed by April 2028.
In light of this, the tender envisions the work on the docks beginning in April 2027 and lasting up to 12 months – though the council will publish the precise dates (along with any diversion routes) once the contract has been awarded.